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Coi,. J(»Hx\ S. Slocum. 



MEMORIAL 



First Colonel of the 

^jetaiitX 'g.UotXc Jsland "^oXxxnUtvs, 



WHO FELL IX 



1^0 Saltia nf |uH \m, Ta., 

July 21, 1861. 



Prepared and Published by Slocum Post, No. 10, 

Department of Rhode Island, 

G. A. R. 



Providence : J. A. & R. A. Reid, Printers. 
1886. 



Gallant Slocum survives in our hearts' recollection, 
And his deeds we transmit to the ages to come, 

To be treasured and sung with undying affection, 
While Freedom and freemen shall boast of a home. 

To Liberty's soldiers, who battle and perish, 
We tenderly render the guerdon of praise; 

Their names and their graves we will sacredly cherish, 
And o'er them the fairest of monuments raise. 



Contents. 





I. 




Introduction, ...... 


7 




Purpose of the Work, . . . . 


• 7 




Explanations, 


8 




II. 




Erection of the Monument, . . . . 


II 


(^) 


Action of the Post, .... 


II 


(^^ 


The Grand Fair and Bivouac, 


• H 


(c) 


In Memoriam, ..... 


i8 




Biographical Sketch, . . . . 


• 19 


(d) 


The Advance Guard, 


25 




Colonel John S. Slocum's Grave, 


. 26 




III. 




Dedication of the Monument, 


29 



CONTENTS. 

(«) Invitations, . . . . . . .29 

((5) Committees, ...... 30 

(c) Dedication Day, . . . . . . 31 

Slocuni Memorial, ..... 31 

{d) The Procession, ...... 33 

(e) At the Cemetery, 36 

{f) The Monument, ...... 36 

{g-) The Unveiling, 38 

{h) The Dedication, . , . . . . 40 

(z) The Ritual, 41 

(/) Services in Infantry Hall, .... 52 

1. Music, ...... 56 

2. Invocation, ..... 56 

3. Music, 58 

4. Oration, ...... cn 

5. Music, . . . . \ . 81 

6. Memorial Ode, .... 81 

7. Music, 89 

8. Benediction, ..... 89 
Concluding Action by the Post .... 90 



pl^tttorial 



Colonel John S. Slocum. 



I, 

%utvoAxxctxon. 

" A gracious memory to buoy up and save 
From Lethe's dreamless ooze, the common grave 
Of the un venturous throng." 

Purpose of the Work. 

The aim of this work is to discharge a duty of 
brotherly love and patriotism. Agreeable to urgent 
requests from officers of the state and from numerous 
private citizens, this memorial of patriotic devotion 
and sacrifice has been prepared by Slocum Post, No. 
lo, Department of Rhode Island, G. A. R. It re- 
cites what has been done by the Post in honor of him 
whose noble name it is proud to bear, and whose life 



8 A MEMOBIAL OF 

reflected lustre upon Rhode Island and upon our 
nation. 

The immediate object of the memorial is to supple- 
ment the commemorative and educational purpose of 
the granite monument lately erected to the honor of 
Colonel Slocum by the Post, in Swan Point Ceme- 
tery, Providence ; and thus to add the voice and spirit 
of letters and of song to that of art, in emphasizing 
and perpetuating the life and deeds of a gallant Chris- 
tian patriot. 

The memorial has been prepared under an order of 
the Post, by the committee charged with the duty of 
securing and erecting the monument, that committee 
consisting of Comrades Henry R. Barker, Chair- 
man; C. Henry Alexander, Alonzo Williams, Fred- 
eric Denison, Peleg Macomber, Theodore A. Bar- 
ton, Secretary. The literary labor involved in the 
work was assigned to Comrades Denison and Wil- 
liams. 

Explanations. 

It will be noticed that the form of the memorial has 
been determined by the order of procedure in the Post 
in securing and dedicating the monument. Such an 
order seemed most natural and properly historical. 
This will also explain why the memorial is not a 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 9 

minute and full biography, but simply a tribute de- 
signed to aid in giving Colonel Slocum his just his- 
torical niche in the gallery of noble martyrs " who 
jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high 
places of the field " that our republic might live. 

A full and particular record of Colonel Slocum's 
life, including his full civil and military services, 
vv^hich will yet be the grateful work of the thorough 
historian of Rhode Island, will amply justify 
every lineament of character here briefly sketched. 
As Rhode Island did not fail to appreciate and admire 
Colonel Slocum's abilities, character, and self-sacrific- 
ing patriotism, she will tenderly cherish whatever 
memorials of him may be secured. The outline 
biographical sketch of him, found in its proper place 
in this volume, is from the pen of his intimate and 
generous friend, Maj.-Gen. Olney Arnold, of Paw- 
tucket. 

The cut presented in this work, intended to suggest 
the general form and character of the monument, may 
indicate that the work of art is an original design 
of the sarcophagus type of sepulchral architecture, 
always appropriate to individuals of distinction, and 
not liable to injuries from time. The cut also indicates 
how the monument is enriched by appropriate sym- 



10 A MEMORIAL OF 

bols. It is allowed by all that what may, by some, 
be regarded as wanting in magnitude, is more than 
supplied in quality, fitness, and rich suggestion. Years 
will only enhance the dignity of the work. 

It remains to say that this volume, as well as the 
monument, is a work of benevolence and love that 
soldiers are prompted to pay to the memory of a gal- 
lant martyr-comrade. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. H 

11. 

%vtctxon af tlxt ^onnnunt 



To front a lie in arms, and not to yield, 
This shows, methinks, God's plan 
And measure of a stalwart man." 



(a) Action of the Post. 

Patriot soldiers can never forcret their comrades. 
Theirs is a peculiar fellowship, unspeakably strong, 
tender, and sacred. More than golden is the bond 
that unites men who have battled on bloody fields for 
the rights of our nation and the brotherhood of man- 
kind. Dear to them as life are those who fell by their 
side in the great conflict. Never was there a nobler 
cause submitted to the arbitrament of arms than that 
of our nation in her late struggle, and never was there 
a worthier army than that which upheld our starry 
flag, and through the flames of battle wrought the 
regeneration of our republic. 

By a natural impulse of heart, the veterans of the 
Union Army, in organizing their Posts for social and 
charitable purposes, under the watchwords, " Frater- 



12 A MEMORIAL OF 

nity, Charity, and Loyalty," have usually selected, 
for their specific designations, the names of their 
fallen comrades. This is alike honorable and just — 
honorable to the living and just to the dead. Thus 
was it in the formation of the Post whose doings are 
mentioned in part in this memorial. The comrades 
counted it an obligation and an honor to call them- 
selves Slocum Post in remembrance of one of Rhode 
Island's first and most heroic martyrs. 

From the origin of the Post, Feb. 27, 1868, it was 
contemplated to do something in memory of Col. John 
S. Slocum, whose body, recovered from the battle- 
field in March, 1862, had rested in Swan Point 
Cemetery, Providence, without a monument. For a 
time the necessary expenses of the Post, and the mone- 
tary revulsion in the country, prevented direct action. 
Moreover, it was hoped that the state, or the city, or, 
at least, some private citizens who were not in the 
army, would take the initiative in duly honoring the 
hero's grave. Finally it was concluded that the people 
were waiting to be led in this matter by the veterans 
whose taste was to be considered. Those who had 
fought the battles were to hold the front in the labor 
and expense of the desired tribute. 

The bloom of hearts is gratitude. This grace of 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOOUM. 13 

character and promise of true action is nowhere found 
in greater beauty and strength than in the Grand 
Army of the Republic. The hall of Slocum Post has 
long been adorned with a large and faithfully executed 
oil painting of Colonel Slocum. There too, in a suit- 
ably protected case, are the sword, sash and belt he 
used in his last battle. All reminders of him are 
sacredly cherished. But it was deeply felt that some 
visible and enduring memorial of the chivalrous officer 
should be set up in the view of all the people, to be 
a perpetual inspiration to those for whom he laid down 
his life. 

The authoritative action of the Post from the first 
may be summarized into the following brief record : 

SepL ij, iSji. — Voted, on motion of Comrade 
Joseph J. Comstock, that a committee of six be ap- 
pointed by the Post Commander, H. R. Barker, to be 
named at the next meeting, to consider the necessary 
steps to secure a monument. 

Sept. 20, iSyi. — The committee appointed by the 
commander consisted of Comrades C. H. Williams, 
F. G. Allen, J. L. Sherman, J.J. Comstock, Wm. 
E. Clarke. 

From personal subscriptions and the avails of a fair, 
funds were raised sufficient for putting in a foundation 



14 A MEMOBIAIi OF 

for the monument, which it was concluded should be 
of the sarcophagus form. A suitable and solid founda- 
tion was duly laid. In 1880 a new committee was 
appointed consisting of Comrades H. R. Barker, F. G. 
Allen, and C. H. Alexander, with power to act for 
the Post. 

Nov. 4, i88j. — Upon the suggestion of the Com- 
mander, T. A. Barton, that the time had come to 
carry forward to completion the movement for a monu- 
ment, and after an address by Comrade F. Denison, 
the existing committee was increased by adding to it 
F. Denison, Alonzo Williams, Peleg Macomber, and 
Commander Barton. 

(b) " The Grand Fair and Bivouac." 

As the public generally felt a very natural and deep 
interest in the efforts of the Post to secure a monument 
to Colonel Slocum, and only waited for an oppor- 
tunity to express the prevalence and measure of the 
desire to honor him who had died for us all, the Post 
concluded to hold a large and tasteful fair, where all 
the people might be gratified in seeing and hearing 
what would be worth to them more than the money 
they might pay, and yet the avails be such as to 
further the monument movement. No sooner was this 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 15 

purpose announced than some of the leading citizens 
of the state indicated their interest by forwarding to 
the Post their checks for handsome amounts. 

Arrangements were made that secured Infantry 
Hall, the most suitable and eligible place in the city. 
With its many and convenient side rooms, this hall 
afforded the most available spaces for the large and 
splendid entertainment. 

A scheme for the entertainment was adopted that 
embraced a number of days and a variety of scenes, 
that all the people might have access to the hall, and 
an opportunity to study the war relics, works of art, 
and curiosities put on exhibition. No expense was 
spared in the selection and arrangement of the articles 
to be studied, and in fitting the tents, booths, and stands. 
Flags, portraits, and mottoes tastefully arranged, deco- 
rated the walls. Altogether, it was undoubtedly the 
most elaborate and beautiful display ever made in the 
city. The exhibition opened Easter Monday, April 
26, 1886, and continued through the week, excepting 
Friday. 

A minute account of the Grand Fair and Bivouac 
would fill quite a volume. The opening night was 
designated as "Camp Wetmore," and was honored 
by the presence of His Excellency, Governor George 



16 A MEMORIAL OF 

P. Wetmore and full staff; the United Train of Artil- 
lery, Col. C. H. Van Slyck ; the Department Com- 
mander and staff, and local Posts of the Grand Army 
of the Republic, many distinguished guests, and an 
audience filling the hall, adjoining rooms, and corri- 
dors to overflowing. 

Comrade Theodore A. Barton, chairman of the 
committee, called the assembly to order, and in a few 
appropriate remarks introduced Comrade Alonzo Wil- 
liams, Professor in Brown University, who, in an elo- 
quent speech, welcomed in behalf of the Post, His 
Excellency the Governor and other guests. 

His Excellency the Governor responded in an able 
and patriotic address, and declared the Grand Fair and 
Bivouac opened. 

The second night was designated as "Camp Doyle." 
His Honor, Mayor Thomas A. Doyle, was detained 
at home by illness, but he was represented by leading 
city officials. There were also present the Slocum 
Light Guard, Brig.-Gen. E. H. Rhodes and staff, 
many prominent military men and citizens, and an 
immense audience. 

The third night was known as " Camp Sayles," 
and was honored by the presence of His Honor, Mayor 
F. C. Sayles, of Pawtucket, the Tower Light In- 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 17 

fantry, Tower Post, No. 17, G. A. R., many distin- 
guished citizens, and an attendance equal to that of 
either of the preceding nights. 

The fourth night was designated as " Camp Bur- 
dett," in honor of the Commander-in-Chief, G. A. R. 
There were present the First Light Infantry Regiment, 
Col. W. H. Thornton, Department Commander Theo- 
dore A. Barton and full staff, William A. Streeter Post, 
No. 145, G. A. R., of Attleboro, Mass., and an 
audience unequaled by that of either of the other 
nights. 

The four nights closed the programme as originally 
arranged, but an extra entertainment was given Sat- 
urday night, which was very attractive and largely 
attended. 

A great multitude, from near and far, patronized 
the Grand Fair and Bivouac, and made it a decided 
success, both socially and financially. The zeal with 
which the ladies aided in the entire enterprise de- 
serves most honorable mention. The inception, ar- 
rangement, and general conduct of the Fair and 
Bivouac were due to the wisdom and tact of Comrade 
T. A. Barton. 

In connection with the Fair there was issued a little 
book, of miniature size, called The Hard Tack, as 
2 



18 A MEMOBIAL OF 

it was put up in a cover very exactly representing the 
army biscuit issued to the First Rhode Island Volun- 
teer Militia, and contained a likeness of Colonel Slo- 
cuM, a tribute to him from the pen of Comrade 
Alonzo Williams, and a biographical sketch of Colo- 
nel Slocum, written by Maj.-Gen. Olney Arnold. 
The contents of The Hard Tack were so much 
prized that they are here repeated. 



[ (r) Trihute.'\ 



A 

HERO 

Sans Penr et Sans Reproche. 

IN MEMORIAM. 



Again we salute thee with uncovered head. Five 
and twenty summers have come and gone since we be- 
held thee in thy manly beauty. Struck down, alas ! 
in all the strength of manhood and wealth of promise, 
we lament thee not, for thus to fall is most triumph- 
antly to conquer. Thou art not dead. Thy nobler 
part no endless night confines. Virtue treads paths 
that do not end in death. Thy body rests upon its 
battered shield, thy soul triumphant rises above the 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 19 

smoke of battle and mist of years, to inspire and cheer 
us still, a part of our life's imperishable good. We 
come not to praise ; it were too late ; the herald of 
thy brave deed outstrips our words. Such heroism 
and virtue are not exalted by columns of marble and 
bronze, blazoned and crowned with trophies and art. 
We lift to the blue sky above thee a memorial that 
we may give expression to our heart's desires, that 
we may bequeath to our children the lesson of thy sac- 
rifice, and that we may thus link ourselves to thy im- 
mortality. Over no martyr's grave hover memories 
more sacred. Around no hero's tomb hang more 
transcendent glories. Rest in peace, brave heart, thy 
task is finished, thy fame secure. 

Alonzo Williams. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



For tvJiat he was and all he dared, remember him to-day. 



By Maj.-Gen. Olney Arnold. 



Col. John S. Slocum was born in the town of 
Richmond, State of Rhode Island, on the ist of No- 



20 A MEMORIAL OF 

vember, 1824. His father, Samuel Slocum, the inven- 
tor of the solid-headed pin, soon after removed to 
Bristol, R. I., and it was at the public schools of that 
town, and at the Fruit Hill Classical School in North 
Providence, and also for some time in Trinity Col- 
lege, Conn., that young Slocum received his educa- 
tion. He early manifested an inclination for military 
studies ; soon learned to handle the musket, and, at 
the age of seventeen, became a member of the Na- 
tional Cadets, of Providence. On the breaking out of 
the Mexican War, this citizen soldier, who had then 
reached the age of twenty-two, hastened to Washing- 
ton and applied to the President for a commission in 
the army. This he finally obtained without the as- 
sistance or influence of friends. His first commission, 
that of lieutenant of infantry, was dated Feb. 18, 
1847. He was attached to the Ninth Regiment, and 
bore a prominent part in the battles of Contreras, 
Churubusco, and Chapultepec. For gallant conduct 
at the battle of Contreras, Aug. 19, 1847, he re- 
ceived the brevet rank of Captain. At Chapultepec 
he commanded one of the storming companies. His 
bravery and coolness on that terrible day won for him 
a full Captain's commission. On the disbandment of 
his regiment, the young Captain returned to his native 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 21 

State. The military reputation that he had attained 
caused him to be highly regarded by the active mili- 
tia companies of the state, and he was of great ser- 
vice to many of these organizations. At a later 
period he was chosen Commander of the Mechanics 
Rifles, afterwards known as the Slocum Light Guard, 
and that company at once took high rank in the state 
militia. His proficiency in military tactics led to his 
appointment as one of the examining board at West 
Point, in i860. When the proclamation of President 
Lincoln, calling for seventy-five thousand men for the 
defense of the capital of the nation, reached Provi- 
dence, on the fifteenth day of April, 1861, Governor 
Sprague sent for Slocum and offered him the commis- 
sion of Major in the First Regiment, Rhode Island 
Detached Militia. This offer was promptly accepted. 
In the organization of this regiment, and during the 
time he remained with it, his assistance to Colonel 
Burnside was invaluable. The regiment left Provi- 
dence on the 20th of April and proceeded to Wash- 
ington, where it remained until ordered to the front 
in July. When the raising of the Second Rhode 
Island Regiment was in progress, great anxiety was 
felt by the citizens as to who should be its commander. 
The selection of Major Slocum by the governor 



22 A MEMORIAL OF 

relieved this anxiety and met the approval of both 
volunteers and people. The Second Regiment, un- 
der the command of Colonel S locum, left Providence 
on the nineteenth day of June, 1861, and on its ar- 
rival in Washington encamped near Camp Sprague, 
where the First Regiment was stationed. From this 
time until its first engagement at Sudley Ford, Colonel 
Slocum was actively engaged in preparing his regi- 
ment for service in the field ; and when the conflict 
came on, his men fought with the courage and cool- 
ness of veterans. On that eventful Sunday morning, 
destined to be the last on earth to Colonel Slocum, he 
led his regiment and was the first to arrive at Sudley 
Ford, on the extreme left of the rebel line. His regi- 
ment at once engaged the enemy. The steady 
charges of this gallant corps, led by its experienced 
and brave commander, forced the Confederate troops 
to retire in disorder. But in the hour of apparent 
victory, this hero of two wars fell mortally wounded 
and was left on the field. He lived nearly two days 
after he was stricken down, but never spoke again or 
manifested any signs of consciousness. 

*' He sleeps his last sleep, he has fought his last battle ; 
No sound can awake him to glory again." 

The names of " Contreras, Churubusco, Chapulte- 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 23 

pec, and Bull Run," will be carved in enduring granite 
upon his monument, as his manly virtues are engraved 
on the hearts of his friends. He was a loving hus- 
band, a filial son, and true friend. Among the brave, 
he was the bravest, and was every inch a soldier. 
With a full realization of the danger, he would have 
crossed the bridge at Lodi with Napoleon, or charged 
with the immortal six hundred into the jaws of death. 
Colonel Burnside in his official report says : " The 
death of Colonel Slocum is a loss, not only to his 
own state, which mourns the death of a most gallant and 
meritorious officer, who would have done credit to the 
service, while his prominent abilities as a soldier would 
have raised him high in the public estimation." Chap- 
lain Woodbury, in his history of the Second Rhode 
Island Regiment, says : " Much of the future distinc- 
tion of the regiment was undoubtedly due to the sol- 
dierly character of its first Colonel. He held the 
command but little more than six weeks, but it was 
long enough to fix its direction and determine its course. 
Colonel Slocum had a high idea of a soldier's life. 
When he took command of the Second, he resolved 
to make it, if possible, first, certainly second to none, 
in the service. He would talk with pride of the men 
he commanded, and with hope of the results he ex- 



24 A MEMORIAL OF 

pected to work out with them. The regiment never 
lost the force of this impulsion. The successors of 
S LOCUM in command fully appreciated his purpose, 
were moved by the same spirit, and never ceased to 
feel the influence which he had exerted at the start. 
What he did, and what he intended to do, were always 
kept in mind, and when his name became glorified and 
consecrated by his fearless death, his ambitious hopes 
for his regiment were reinforced ; for his successors 
seemed to feel that upon them devolved the duty of 
bringing those hopes to fruition, and of redeeming the 
pledges which had been virtually given to the coun- 
try by the first commander." The compiler of this 
brief sketch of the life of a brave soldier, knew him 
intimatel}'^ for some years previous to the Civil War, 
and admired his manl}'^ qualities and unswerving loy- 
alty, always regarding his death as a great loss to his 
country, firmly believing that had he lived he would 
have attained the highest military rank and received 
the plaudits of his grateful countrymen. It was also 
the privilege of the compiler, as a member of the Gov- 
ernor's staff, to take charge and direction of a detach- 
ment of troops for the recovery of the bodies of the 
officers of the Rhode Island regiments who were left 
on the field in that memorable fight. We succeeded in 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 25 

finding the bodies of Slocum, Ballou, and Tower, in 
honor of whom three important Posts of the Grand 
Army have been named. Their ashes shall mingle 
with the soil of the state they loved so well. Their 
souls have entered Paradise. 

Colonel Slocum was married in February, 1858, to 
Abby, daughter of the late Gen. Charles T. James, 
formerly a Senator from Rhode Island, and the inven- 
tor of the cannon ball that bears his name. Colonel 
Slocum also left two children, a girl and a boy, who 
survived him but a few years. His widow, who has 
been faithful to his memor}^ for a quarter of a century, 
lives in this city, and is every way deserving of the 
respect and gratitude of the friends of her husband. 

" The wife who girds her husband's sword, 

'Mid little ones who Aveep or wonder ; 
And bravely speaks the cheering word, 

What though her heart be rent asunder, 
Doomed nightly in her dreams to hear 

The shafts of death around him rattle, 
Has shed as sacred blood as e'er 

Was poured upon the field of battle." 

{d) The Advance Guard. 

, The Post also, during the fair, published a large 
newspaper, entitled Tke Advance Guard, edited 
by Comrade Alonzo Williams and Chaplain Frederic 



26 A MEMORIAL OF 

Denison. It was devoted chiefly to articles on army- 
service, references to Colonel Slocum, and advertise- 
ments. Among the original articles was the follow- 
ing : 

\_A Poem.'] 

Col. John S. Slocum's Grave. 

By the Rev. Frederic Denison, A. M., Chaplain of the Department 
of Rhode Island, G. A. R. 



Himself he gave at Freedom's call, 
When life alone could save our land ; 

To face the battle-storm, and fall 

The foremost of his brave command. 

And shall his grave unmarked remain ? 

Shall no memorial speak his name. 
Whose heart's blood wet Manassas Plain, 

And pleads with an undying claim? 

Upon his low, unlettered mound 
The grateful ivy lifts its head, 

Its rootlets nourished from the wound 
That for a nation's healing bled. 

Must they who battled by his side, 

And suffering bore in Freedom's strife. 

Alone his monument provide. 
And tell the story of his life ? 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 27 

Shall they for whom he poured his blood, 
Be known by rich sepulchral stones, 

While not a thought of brotherhood 
Is lent to guard the martyr's bones ? 

Nay, all will join to rear his urn 

Of art and beauty tasteful wed ; 
That Freedom's future heirs may learn 

The honor done the patriot dead. 

Of fame, our state may own some part, 

Because she noble children bears ; 
And this the index of her heart, 

What weeds for martyred sons she wears. 

As o'er her lost a mother weeps 

And gathers garlands for their graves. 

So tenderly Rhode Island keeps 
The memory of her fallen braves. 

What^gives a country crowning claims. 

And speaks its highest eulogy ? 
It is^its roll of hero names 

Graved on its shrine of liberty. 

Outranking knights and kings are those. 
Who, when leagued legions lift the brand, 

Go freely forth to interpose 

Their breasts to shield their native land. 



28 A MEMORIAL OF 

The avails of the Fair enabled the Post to proceed 
in its purpose of securing the desired work of art. At 
once the monument committee invited artists, and es- 
pecially adepts in mortuary architecture, to present 
designs. After a variety of plans had been submitted, 
the committee were unanimous in their choice of the 
design which was at last executed. Granite was 
agreed upon as the material throughout. As Rhode 
Island granite, found in Westerly, is regarded both as 
the finest and best in color for monumental purposes, 
admitting of being carved into the most delicate and 
expressive forms, some of which characterized the 
accepted design, the contract for executing the mon- 
ument was given to the well-known Westerly firm — 
The Smith Granite Company. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 29 

III. 
IMkati0M of titjc ^onnmtnt 



(a) Invitations. 

The monument having been executed by the con- 
tractors, and, after inspection by the committee pro- 
nounced acceptable, arrangements were made for its 
dedication. The monument committee drew a pro- 
grarnme of exercises which was accepted by the Post, 
and then issued cards of invitation for other Posts, state 
and city officials, and particular friends. We copy 
one of the cards : 

" Ceremonies of dedication of the monument erected to memory 
of Col. John S. Slocum, by Slocum Post, No. lo, G. A. R., in 
Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, R. I., on Monday, Nov. 29, 
1886. 

The services at the monument will take place at half past three 
in the afternoon. The memorial address and poem will be given in 
Infantry Hall, commencing at eight in the evening. 
The honor of your presence is requested. 

HENRY R. BARKER, 

C/ia/rmafi. 



30 A MEMOKIAL OF 

Monument Comtm'i/ee.— Henry R. Barker, C. Ilenrj Alexander, 
Alonzo Williams, Frederic Denison, Peleg Macomber, Theodore A. 
Barton. 

Please be present at the Narragansett Hotel at half past one in 
the afternoon." 

The following were the additional committees nec- 
essary for the services of Dedication Day. 

(d) Committees. 

Reception of the Governor and Staff. 



Charles H. Williams, Isaac M. Potter, George A. Wooley, 

Albert O. Robbins, George M. Turner, 

William E. Clarke, James S. Hudson, A. A. Wightman, 

Edward F. O'Connor, Henry C. Luther, 

Israel M. Hopkins, W. R. Perry, William T. Luther, 

Eben W. Waterhouse. 



Rfxeption of the Department Commander and Staff. 



B. B. Hammond, Henry S. Olney, Elias M. Jenckes, 

S. W. Bartlett, B. B. Manchester, 

John E. Burroughs, George H. Paddock, George Edw. Allen. 



Reception of Military and other Guests. 



William H. Thornton, James L. Sherman, 

T. King Cooke, John W. Gale, John A. Vaughn, 

John P. Walker, James Cameron. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 31 

Reception of Guests at Infantry Hall. 



Charles A. Hopkins, Asa Lyman, A. M. Eaton, 
Stephen A. Barker, A. M. Hussej, J. H. Prior, N. Van Slyck, 

William Barker, Robert W. Small, William Gardiner, 

Charles H. Baker, Dexter L. Pearce. Wm. Rhodes Arnold, 

John F. Slocum, George P. Whitney, 

Charles H. Merriman, William H. Palmer, J. Harry Welch, 

E. C. Leavitt, Edwin A. Smith, M. J. Perry. 

(c) Dedication Day. 

When Dedication Day arrived Acting Mayor Rob- 
bins, of Providence, ordered the city flags to be 
floated in honor of the patriot ceremonies. The day 
proved to be peculiarly favorable. 

On the morning of Dedication Day, the following 
editorial appeared in the Providence yournal, from 
the pen of Brig-Gen. Horatio Rogers : 

Slocum Memorial. 

Twenty-five years ago. Col. John S. Slocum, of our 
Second Regiment, fell at the battle of Bull Run. He 
was one of Rhode Island's earliest offerings to the 
Union cause in the late Rebellion. From no man in 
the state was more anticipated than from him, and had 
he lived it is believed that his services would have 
been so conspicuous as to have won for him sure and 



32 A MEMORIAL OF 

rapid promotion. Hitherto his grave has remained 
unmarked, save by a foundation on which a monu- 
ment has but just been erected. Happily after the 
lapse of a quarter of a century, this serious omission 
has been supplied by the Grand Army Post that bears 
his name, and to-day a suitable memorial of Colonel 
Slocum, which has already been described in these 
columns, is to be unveiled at Swan Point Cemetery 
with the impressive services prescribed by the Grand 
Army Ritual, according to the programme published 
in another column. 

Among Rhode Island's heroic sons who laid down 
their lives for their country in the terrible struggle be- 
tween Union and Secession, no one is more deserving 
a place in her history than Slocum ; and, as the flight 
of time is gradually removing those who were familiar 
with him on earth, it becomes more and more import- 
ant that some adequate portrayal of his life and char- 
acter should be put upon record, that the generations 
to come may know him as he was. The memorial 
dedication to-day will include an address to be deliv- 
ered in Infantry Hall this evening by Professor Alonzo 
Williams, of Brown University, himself a veteran 
of the late war ; and it will, indeed, be a happy 
consummation of the loving service of Slocum Post 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOOUM. 33 

in commemoration of the patriotic devotion of him 
whose name they bear, not only to have permanently 
and suitably marked his grave, but also to have in- 
scribed securely on the page of history a proper record 
that will insure for him a merited and enduring fame. 

{d) The Procession. 

In accordance with the invitations, notices, and 
orders issued, promptly at 2 o'clock, p. m., Nov. 
29, 1886, the large and beautiful procession of mem- 
bers of the Grand Army of the Republic, veterans, 
state militia, state and city officers, and invited guests^ 
formed on South Water Street, its right resting on 
College Street, in the following order : 

Platoon of Police in command of Sergeant Murray. 

Chief Marshal C. Henry Alexander, Commander 
of Slocum Post. 

Aides. — E. F. O'Connor, George M. Turner, E. 
W. Waterhouse, Munson H. Najac. 

American Band, D. W. Reeves, leader, 25 pieces. 

The Slocum Light Guard, Capt. George A. For- 
syth, 2 officers and 40 muskets, as escort. 

Slocum Post, No. 10, G. A. R., Senior Vice-Com- 
mander George Edward Allen in command. 

Continental Band, J. F. Parks, leader. 



34 A MEMORIAIi OF 

The Department Officers. — Department Com- 
mander Theodore A. Barton, Senior Vice-Department 
Commander Benjamin L. Hall, Junior Vice-Depart- 
ment Commander Gideon Spencer, and members of 
the Department Staff. Past Department Commanders 
C. H. Brayton, E. H. Rhodes, C. H. Williams, C. C. 
Gray, H. R. Barker, H. F. Jencks, A. K. McMahon, 
and E. A. Cory, and other G. A. R. officers. 

The Second Rhode Island and Battery A, Veteran 
Association, President, J. B. Curtis. 

Military Guests. 

Col. C. H. Van Slyck, and officers of the United 
Train of Artillery. 

Col. W. H. Thornton, and officers of the First 
Light Infantry Regiment. 

Maj. Alexander Strauss, and officers of the First 
Battalion of Cavalry. 

Maj. B. McSoley, and officers of the Second Bat- 
talion of Infantry. 

Maj. George T. Smith, and officers of the Fourth 
Battalion of Infantry. Col. J. P. H. Wilbur and 
other officers. 

Carriages containing His Excellency Governor 
Wetmore, His Honor Mayor Robbins, Quartermaster 
General Dennis, Past Department Commander Henry 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 35 

R. Barker, Chairman Committee of Arrangements ; 
Colonels Sheffield and Harris, of the Governor's staff; 
Comrade Professor Alonzo Williams, Orator ; Rev. 
Frederic Denison, Poet ; Surgeon-General Budlong, 
and Assistant Surgeon-General Kenyon. 

Disabled comrades in carriages. 

The route lay through Westminster, Mathewson, 
Broad, Market Square, North Main, and Benefit 
streets, where carriages were taken for the cemetery. 
The column presented an imposing appearance, with 
the long line of veterans with their distinctive badges, 
followed by the citizen soldiery in their brilliant uni- 
forms and the carriages containing distinguished civic 
and military guests. The sidewalks were well filled 
with citizens, and the march through the streets was 
watched with deep interest. Marching in the ranks 
were a brother and nephew of the late Colonel 
Slocum — Samuel D. Slocum and William S. Slocum. 
There was also a delegation from the First Rhode 
Island Veteran Association, under President Charles 
H. Merriman. 

In the procession Slocum Post numbered three 
hundred and twenty men in line and about forty on 
special detail duty for the day. This is now the 
largest Post in the state and counts above four hundred 
members. 



36 A MEMORIAL OF 

((?) At the Cemetery. 

On arriving at Swan Point Cemetery, the large 
procession formed outside the grounds, and with toll- 
ing bell, the notes of dirge, and muffled drum, wound 
its solemn way through the avenues, beneath the 
trees, to the beautiful spot, near the southeastern por- 
tion of the grounds, on the eastern slope of the high 
ground overlooking the Seekonk River, to the mar- 
tyr's grave. Those who viewed that large proces- 
sion, highly representative in character, and considered 
all its symbols of flags and badges, and above all, its 
deep spirit, will never forget its impressiveness and 
suggestive beauty. The lot holding the grave is 
thirty-six feet square. The remains lie in one of the 
vaults under the foundation of the monument. Slo- 
cum Post, by consent of the family, has secured, 
through the generosity of the Corporation of Swan 
Point Cemetery, the perpetual care of this lot and of 
the monument. The Cemetery Company has mani- 
fested the most laudable and patriotic spirit. 

{/) The Monument. 

The monument is a granite sarcophagus of an 
antique type, resting on two bases, the lowest of which 
measures eight feet four inches by four feet six inches 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 37 

at the foundation, the total height being about five feet. 
The outHne is simple and severe, but very effective in 
its contrast with the rich group of military equipments 
which are carved on the top. The top, or roof, instead 
of being finished with the usual projecting mouldings, 
is treated in the semblance of a cover by a deep square 
groove, which separates it from the die. It is almost 
concealed by a large carved United States flag, which 
is draped gracefully in front. On this is carved in full 
relief, and very correctly copied, the cap, sword, belt, 
sash, and gauntlets, as worn by Colonel Slocum in the 
service. The front of the monument is one plain 
hammered surface, with the words 

Col. John S. Slocum 
in bold, raised letters on the die, flanked by beauti- 
fully carved shoulder straps of his rank in panel. The 
head of the die has this ascription in sunken letters : 

" His life's expense 
Hath won for him coeval youth 
With the immaculate prime of truth." 

At the opposite end or foot of the monument, the 
following legend is inscribed : 

Erected by 

Slocum Post, No. io. 

Department of Rhode Island, 

G. A. R. 



38 A MEMORIAL OF 

On the ends and back of the cap, in antique Roman 
letters, are Colonel Slocum's three famous battles in 
the Mexican War, 

contreras. 

Churubusco. 

Chapultepec. 

The back of the die has these words : 

Fell at Bull Run, Va., July 21, 1861. 

and immediately below on the base, 

First Colonel Second Rhode Island Volun- 
teers. 

The work was carefully executed after the design 
drawn by Mr. Alfred H. Combe, the agent and de- 
signer in Providence, of the Smith Granite Company. 

(^) The Unveiling. 

On the arrival of the procession at the grave the 
comrades and guests formed around the lot containing 
the monument in a hollow square, taking position 
according to the diagram here presented : 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 



39 



Slocum Post. 





G. 




C. G. G. 




• 




• 


e 






Monument. 










• • 
N. A. 




• 
G. 


O 


S. V. D. C. 

• 

• 
G. 


• 
G. 


Chaplain. 


• 




• 
O. D. 

• 
D. C. 


• J. V. D. C. 

• 
A. 



Department Staff and 

Post Officers and 

Guests. 



GOVBRNOR and StAFF, 

Mayor, Etc. 
Band. 



O M 

2 <^ 

-'I 

■ O 



> 

S > 

C/) '^ 

> 

o 



There was present a large concourse of citizens 
from near and far, who had come in carriages and on 
foot. On the left of the Department Commander and 
his staff, in a carriage, were seated the widow of Col- 
onel Slocum and certain relatives. A viev/ of that 
assemblage was a touching historical picture. Vol- 
umes might be read in all the faces. 



40 A MEMOBIAIi OF 

At a signal from Past Department Commander 
Henry R. Barker, Chairman of the Monument Com- 
mittee of Slocum Post, the American Band played a 
dirge, the American Hymn, while all the comrades 
bared their heads, and the monument was unveiled 
of its superb American flag by Past Post Command- 
ers H. R. Barker, C. H. Williams, and H. C. Luther, 
and Post Commander C. Henry Alexander. 

{h) The Dedication. 

At the close of the dirge, Comrade Barker stepped 
forward and said : 

" Commander of the Department of Rhode Island, 
Grand Army of the Republic : I have been authorized 
to invite you at this time to accept from Slocum Post, 
No. lo. Department of Rhode Island, Grand Army 
of the Republic, this monument, and to request that 
it may be dedicated by you to the noble purpose for 
which it has been erected." 

The ceremony of dedication then proceeded under 
the direction of Department Commander Theodore A. 
Barton, assisted by Senior Vice-Department Com- 
mander, Benjamin L. Hall ; Junior Vice-Department 
Commander Gideon Spencer ; Assistant Adjutant- 
General Peleg Macomber ; Department Chaplain 



COLONEIi JOHN S. SLOCUM. 41 

Rev. Frederic Denison ; Medical Director William 
H. Traver ; Inspector James A. Abbott, as officer of 
the day ; Chief Mustering Officer Benjamin F. Da- 
vis, as officer of the guard ; Assistant Mustering Offi- 
cer Charles H. Baker, representing a sailor, in 
full naval uniform ; Member of the Council of Ad- 
ministration George W. Barry, representing a soldier 
in full uniform, and by other department officers. 

(i) The Ritual. 

Commander. — In the name of my comrades of 
the Grand Army of the Republic, representing as they 
do all soldiers and sailors who defended the integrity 
and authority of the nation, I thank you and those 
whom you represent for this monument. Its very si- 
lence is impressive. Without articulate speech, it is 
eloquent. It needs no words. It is itself an oration. 
It assures us that our dead are held in remembrance — 
those dead who gave their lives for the security of the 
citizen and the union of the states. It is significant 
of brave and loyal obedience to the command of the 
nation always and everywhere, since the obligations 
of citizenship are not restricted to time, or place, or 
the conffict of arms. It gives encouragement for the 
future, since the recognition and approval it gives of 



42 A MEMOBIAL OF 

patriotic fidelity and heroism will be an incentive for 
the display of public valor and virtue in all coming 
time. There can be no doubt that the honor you pay 
to the patriot dead, and to their memorable deeds, will 
serve not only to make American citizenship in these 
days more reputable, but also to maintain and perpet- 
uate, through all generations, the union and authority 
of the United States of America. 

Adjutant ; you will detail a Guard of Honor. 

Adjutant. — Reads a list of the Guard — Samuel 
W. Bartlett, Robert L. SaHsbury, Nicholas W. Pot- 
ter, Harry W. Sisson, Elisha H. Disley, comrades of 
Slocum Post ; each man as his name was called 
answering " Here !" and then said : Commander ; the 
guard is present. 

Commander. — Officer of the Day ; you will direct 
the Officer of the Guard to station this detail near the 
monument. 

Four guards, in complete uniform and arms, were 
stationed at the corners of the monument facing out 
and the color guard, (E. H. Disley,) with flag 
furled, was stationed at the back of the monument 
facing it. 

Commander. — Holy Scripture saith : The Lord 
gave the word : great was the army of those that pub- 
lished it. Psalm Ixviii., II. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 43 

Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set 
up a standard. Jer. 1., 2. 

In the name of our God we will set up our banners. 
Psalm XX., 5. 

Officer of the Day ; you will order the guard of 
honor to display our flag. 

Officer of the Day. — Officer of the Guard ; 
let the flag be displayed. 

It was unfurled, and waved above the monument. 

Music. — The American Band played the Star 
Spangled Banner. 

Commander. — The forces of the nation are di- 
vided into two great arms, that of the navy and that 
of the army. Senior Vice-Commander ; what words 
of Holy Scripture may apply to the navy? 

Senior Vice-Commander. — They that go down 
to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters ; 
these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in 
the deep. For He commandeth, and raiseth the 
stormy wind, w^hich lifteth up the waves thereof. Then 
they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bring- 
eth them out of their distresses. He maketh the 
storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then 
are they glad because they be quiet ; so He bringeth 
them unto their desired haven. O that men would 



44 A MEMOBIAIi OF 

praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonder- 
ful works to the children of men. Psalm cvii., 23, 
52, 28-32. 

Commander. — Officer of the Day ; let the Guard of 
Honor set up the symbol of the Navy, and let a sailor 
be detailed to guard it. 

An anchor (four feet in height and made of ivy 
leaves) was set up against the monument, crossed 
with a cutlass. A comrade in full naval uniform stood 
guard with a drawn cutlass. 

Commander. — Junior Vice-Commander ; what 
Scriptures may apply to the army? 

Junior Vice-Commander. — To your tents, O, 
Israel. So all Israel went to their tents, 2 Chron. x., 
16. The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, 
every man by his own camp, and every man by his 
own standard, throughout their hosts, Num. i., 52. 
Thou hast given a banner to them that fear Thee, 
that it may be displayed because of the truth. Psalm 
Ix., 4. The Lord shall utter His voice before His 
army : for His camp is very great : for He is strong 
and executeth His word : for the day of the Lord is 
great and very terrible ; and who can abide it? Joel 
ii., II. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses : 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 45 

but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 
Psalm XX., 7. 

Commander. — Officer of the Day ; let the Guard 
of Honor set up the symbol of the Army, and let a 
soldier be detailed to guard it. 

A musket with fixed bayonet, a canteen and haver- 
sack hanging from it, a knapsack leaning against the 
stock, were set up against the monument opposite to 
the anchor ; and a comrade in full soldier uniform , 
armed with a musket with fixed bayonet, stood guard. 

Commander. — Officer of the Day; if the work of 
the Navy and Army be well done, what proclamation 
from Holy Scripture can you make? 

Officer of the Day. — A proclamation of peace. 

Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us ; for Thou also 
hath wrought all our works in us. Is. xxvi., 12. How 
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that 
bringeth good tidings ; that publisheth peace ; that 
bringeth good tidings of good ; that publisheth salva- 
tion ; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth ! The 
Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all 
the nations ; and all the ends of the earth shall see 
the salvation of our God. Is. Hi., 7-10. 

Commander. — The Chaplain will now offer the 
prayer of dedication. Parade rest. 



46 A MEMORIAL OF 

Chaplain. — x\lmighty and Ever Blessed God, we 
thank thee for thy sovereign care and protection. 
Thou didst lead us in the days that were shadowed 
with trouble. Thou gavest us strength when the bur- 
den was heavy upon us. Thou gavest us courage 
and guidance in the conflict, and hast brought us to 
these days of peace. We thank thee that the wrath 
of war has been stilled ; that brother no longer strives 
against brother ; that once again we have one country 
and one flag. 

May thy blessing be upon us as a people ; that we 
may be thy people, true and righteous in all our ways, 
tender and patient in our charity, though resolute for 
the right. Help us to be careful for the downtrodden, 
eager to promote the interests of every citizen through- 
out the land, so that our country may indeed be one 
country, from the rivers to the seas, from the mount- 
ains to the plains. We pray thee to make our mem- 
ories steadfast that we may never forget the great 
sacrifices made for our country. May our dead be 
enshrined in our hearts. May their graves be the 
altars of our grateful and reverential patriotism. 

And now, O Thou Almighty Father, bless this 
monument by making it a blessing. Bless it in honor 
of the gallant and faithful officer whose remains lie 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 47 

beneath it. Bless it in honor of mothers, who bade 
their sons do brave deeds ; in honor of wives who 
wept for husbands that came not back from the field ; 
in honor of children whose heritage is their fallen 
fathers' heroic names ; in honor of men and women 
who ministered to the wounded and dying ; in honor, 
especially, O God, of those men who counted not their 
lives dear when their country called for them — of 
those, alike, who sleep beside the dust of their kin- 
dred, or under the sea, or in nameless graves, where 
only thy angels stand sentinel till the reveille of the 
resurrection morning. Protect this monument, and 
cause it to endure. Unto the latest generation may 
its influence be for the education of the citizens, for 
the honor of civil life, for the advancement of the 
State, for the strengthening of the nation, for the wel- 
fare of humanity, and for the furtherance of thy holy 
kingdom. 

Hear us, O, our God, we ask in the name of Him 
who made proof of the dignity, and consecrated the 
power of sacrifice in His blessed life and death — even 
in the name of Jesus Christ, the Great Captain of our 
Salvation. Amen. 

Comrades. — Amen. 

Commander. — Attention, Comrades of the Depart- 



48 A MEMORIAL OF 

ment of Rhode Island, Grand Army of the Rebublic : 
In the name of the Grand Army of the Republic I 
now dedicate this monument. I dedicate it to the 
memory of Colonel John S. Slocum, who, in the 
army, fought for our hillsides, and valleys and plains, 
and fell in defense of the flag. I dedicate it in memory 
of those who, on land and on sea, fought for the 
authority of the Constitution and fell in defense of the 
flag ; who on land and on sea, fought for the country 
and fell in defense of the flag. Comrades, salute the 
dead ! 

As the dedicatory formula was uttered, at the men- 
tion of the Army the soldier on guard saluted; at the 
allusion to the Navy the sailor on guard saluted ; and 
at the first mention of the Flag the guard of honor 
holding it saluted and stood at salute. In saluting the 
dead, each armed comrade presented arms, the un- 
armed placed the left hand, open fingers outstretched, 
over the left breast, and with the right hand raised the 
cap four inches above the head. 

The American Band played "Pleyel's Hymn." 
All eyes were dimmed with tears. 

Commander. — Attention, Comrades of the Depart- 
ment of Rhode Island, Grand Army of the Republic : 
As we close these services, the Guard of Honor is 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 49 

withdrawn ; the symbols of the Army and Navy are 
removed ; the Flag is lowered : but the memorial we 
have dedicated remains guarded by our dead. So 
long as it shall endure it shall speak to us and to all 
of the loyalty and heroism of John S. S locum in the 
Army, and of that significant national authority of 
which our Flag is the symbol to every true American 
heart. 

Officer of the Day ; remove the symbols. 

They were removed. 

Officer of the Day ; lower the Flag. 

It was furled. 

Officer of the Day ; dismiss the guard. 

It was dismissed. 

Chaplain ; pronounce the benediction. Parade rest. 

Chaplain. — The grace of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of 
the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 

Comrades. — Amen ! 

Attention ! 

The Slocum Light Guard then advanced, and hred 
three volleys over the grave, after which taps were 
suitably and impressively sounded b}'^ bugle call and 
drum beat by Messrs. Church and Hazard, of the 
American Band. 

4 



50 A MEMORIAL OF 

At the close of taps, Brig. -Gen. Ellsha H.Rhodes, 
commanding brigade of Rhode Island Militia, and 
formerly Colonel of the Second Rhode Island Volun- 
teers, stepped forward to the monument, holding in 
his hand a large and elegant laurel wreath, and after 
asking permission, made the following brief address : 

Department Commander Barton: I am directed by 
the Second Rhode Island Volunteers and Battery A, 
Veteran x\ssociation, as a token of the affection and 
esteem we cherish for the memory of our first com- 
mander. Col. John S. Slocum, to reverently place this 
laurel wreath upon his monument. 

Not a few eyes were anew suffused with tears as 
this act was gracefully and tenderly performed. 

All these ceremonies having closed, His Excellency 
George Peabody Wetmore, Governor of Rhode Island, 
and staff. Mayor Robbins, and city officials. Gen. Ho- 
ratio Rogers, and others, approached the monument, 
and laid upon it beautiful floral tributes — roses and 
buds of the rarest kind, and choice bouquets. Many 
comrades added their offerings until the monument 
from base to top seemed abloom with the precious evi- 
dences of personal and patriotic devotion. It was par- 
ticularly noticed that Mr. J. M. Sawin, the Principal 
of the Point Street Grammar School, and his pupils, 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 51 

who, every year, on Memorial Day, assisted Slocum 
Post in doing honor to Colonel Slocum's and other 
graves, were present, and added in a most tender 
manner their offerings to the monument. 

It was the testimony of all who participated in the 
dedicatory exercises, or who witnessed them, that they 
were of an exceedingly appropriate, solemn, and ele- 
vating character, and most impressively rendered. No 
ceremonies of this particular character, in accord- 
ance with the ritual of the Grand Army of the Re- 
public had ever before been observed in Providence. 
They reflected large credit on Slocum Post for its 
efficient arrangements, on the department officers, who, 
having memorized the ritual of dedication, rendered 
it in an accurate and feeling manner, and on the 
well selected and able committees. 

By not a few it was regretted that arrangements 
had not been made with a photographer, skilled in 
taking instantaneous views, to take the scene when 
the dedicating throng was saluting the dead. Cer- 
tainly that company and that service will live forever 
in the memories of those who were present. It was a 
strong testimony to the memory of him who had been 
dead twenty-five years and to the fitness of the cere- 
mony, that there were no dry eyes in that large as- 



52 A MEMORIAIi OF 

sembly. And the chaplain found it difficult to com- 
mand his rising emotions sufficiently to allow him to 
proceed uninterruptedly with his prayer. 

The procession reformed and returned to the city. 
The governor and his staff, under the escort of the 
Reception Committee, Past Department Commander 
Charles H. Williams, Chairman, and guests from 
abroad, with the orator and poet for the evening, w^ere 
entertained at the Narragansett Hotel. The Depart- 
ment Commander and his staff and military guests 
dined at the Caf(6 St. George. The members of 
Slocum Post, of Slocum Light Guard, and comrades 
of other Posts, were abundantly provided for in Slocum 
Post Hall. 

( /) Services in Infantry Hall. 

Memorial Services 

AT 

Infantry Hall, 

Commencing at Eight in the Evening. 

Order of Services. 

Overture, — "American Hymn," American Band. 

Invocation, — . . . 

Comrade E. Benj, Andrews. Professor in Brown University. 

" Pilgrim's Song OF Hope," — American Band. 

Oration, — . . . 

Comrade Alonzo Williams, Professor in Brown University. 
" Day in Camp," — American Band. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 53 

Memorial Ode, — . . Comrade Frederic Denison, Chaplain of 
the Department of Rhode Island G. A. R. 

"America," — American Band and Audience. 

Benediction, — . . Rev. Ezekiel G. Robinson, d. d., ll. d.. 

President of Brown University. 

The hall was filled b}^ a large audience, two-thirds 
of whom were members of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. The decorations of the hall were few, but 
they were in excellent taste. They were arranged by 
Comrade J. Harry Welch and Mr. Charles Wright, 
the latter providing flowers and plants at his own ex- 
pense. In the centre of the stage and against the 
wall was a high frame, over which was draped a 
number of bright new American flags. At the top, 
and framed in the United States colors, was a large 
oil painting of the late Col. John S. S locum. Across 
the top of the frame and down its sides hung sprays 
of the graceful and bright green smilax, while on 
either side were pots of shrubs and exotics. The 
reading-desk was beautifully decorated with cut 
flowers, consisting of a large plaque, in the centre 
of which was the name " Slocum" in immortelles. 
Below it was a wreath of white flowers with a band 
of purple on its lower section, across which was the 
word " Rest.'' On either side were pots of palms, 



54 A MEMORIAL OF 

and at the extremes of the stage were two tall palms 
flanked with shrubs and plants with variegated leaves. 
Past Department Commander Henry R. Barker, 
Chairman of the Slocum Monument Committee, pre- 
sided, and on the stage beside him were, in addition 
to those whose names are mentioned in the Order of 
Services, Comrade Theodore A. Barton, Commander 
of the Department of Rhode Island, G. A. R., and 
his staff; His Excellency, George Peabody Wetmore, 
Governor of Rhode Island, and his staff; His Honor, 
Gilbert F. Robbins, Mayor of Providence ; Brig.- 
Gen. Elisha H. Rhodes, commanding Brigade of 
Rhode Island Militia, and his staff; the Hon. 
Lucius B. Darling, Lieutenant-Governor of Rhode 
Island ; Brig. -Gen. Horatio Rogers, late Colonel of 
the Second Regiment of Rhode Island Volunteers ; 
Brig.-Genls. Charles R. Brayton and William Ames, 
late Colonels of the Third Rhode Island Heavy Artil- 
lery ; Brig.-Genls. Nelson Viall, Nathan Goff, and 
Thomas J. Morgan; ex-Gov. A. H. Littlefield ; the 
Hon. Olney Arnold ; Past Department Commanders 
Charles H. Williams, Charles C. Gray, Philip S. 
Chase, and Eugene A. Cory; Post Commander C. 
Henry Alexander, and a large number of other dis- 
tinguished guests, including Mr. Samuel Slocum, a 
brother of Colonel Slocum. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 55 

In an adjoining reception room sat Mrs. Col. John 
S. Slocum and her mother, Mrs. Gen. Charles T. 
James, her sister, Mrs. Amos M. Bowen, Mrs. Major 
Sullivan Ballon, and other relatives and friends. 

On the floor of the hall were seated Slocum Post, 
No. lo, C. Henry Alexander, Commander; Prescott 
Post, No. I, James H. Fairbrother, Commander; Ar- 
nold Post, No. 4, John T. Drinan, Commander ; Rod- 
man Post, No. 12, D. F. Longstreet, Commander ; 
Ives Post, No. 13, John H. Frances, Commander, and 
delegations from Tower Post, No. 17, of Pawtucket, 
Ballou Post, No. 3, of Central Falls, and A. H. Streeter 
Post, No. 145, of Attleboro ; the Veteran Association 
of the First Rhode Island Detached Militia ;the Second 
Rhode Island Regiment Veteran Association ; the 
Slocum Light Guard ; the United Train of Artillery ; 
the First Light Infantry Regiment ; the Fourth Bat- 
talion of Infantry, Rhode Island Militia; Batter}^ A, 
Light Artillery, Rhode Island Militia; Co. B, First 
Battalion of Cavalry, Rhode Island Militia ; the field 
and staft' officers of the Fifth Battalion of Infantry, 
Rhode Island Militia, and representatives from other 
veteran and militia bodies. 

The galleries, with the exception of a portion of the 
rear one, occupied by the American Band, were filled 



56 A MEMOBIAL OF 

with ladies and the families of the comrades and 
gentlemen present. 

The large, brilliantly lighted, and tastefully deco- 
rated hall, the many distinguished guests, the large 
attendance of veteran volunteers and youthful militia, 
the presence of so many ladies and others interested, 
made a scene at once grand and impressive. 



EXERCISES. 

Overture — "• American Hymn" . . . American Band. 
D. W. Reeves, . . Leader. 



INVOCATION. 
Comrade E. Benj. Andrews. 

Almighty and Eternal God, Thou art the God of 
battles ; Thou art the God of peace ; and as we have 
found Thee a very present help in every time of need 
upon the tented field and in the hour of dreadful con- 
flict, even so we are bold to make our prayer unto 
Thee now, amid these scenes of quiet. Oh, bless us, 
assembled here to-night ! We give Thee earnest 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 57 

thanks for the high privilege of citizenship in this 
goodly land, with its religious, civil, and educational 
institutions, and with all its other appliances for de- 
veloping what is noblest and best in man. We mag- 
nify Thy name for the gracious favor which Thou 
hast had unto this Nation from its earliest days ; that, 
as in ancient centuries Thou didst call Israel Thy son 
and didst lead him out of Egypt, so Thou didst by 
singular providences to our fathers adopt us as, in a 
manner, Thy chosen people, and hast led us all the 
way that we have come. Praised be our God forever, 
that when evil counsellors conspired and the arm of 
rebellion was lifted high against this Republic, Thou 
didst raise up brave men whose hands Thou hadst 
taught to war and whose fingers to fight, and didst 
inspire them to lead forth loyal legions to battle for 
the life of this Nation, and to prevail. 

We have come together to-night to contemplate the 
character and deeds of one of those valiant spirits. 
Assist Thou those who are now about to speak to us 
of him. Remember, we beseech Thee, the organization 
in whose name we are met ; its officers, its rank and file, 
all its interests. Make it a means of signal good, and 
especially so foster Thou through it, in its members, 
in their children, and in others, the spirit of self- 



58 A MEMORIAL OF 

sacrificing patriotism, that a loftier loyalty may come 
to prevail in the discharge of all civic tasks among us, 
and that, should evil days ever again lower upon our 
beloved country, she may not cry in vain for defenders. 
Lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon 
the President of the United States and his helpers 
in administration, and upon the several members of 
Congress and of the Federal judiciary. May all 
who in any wise bear authority over us as a Nation 
have heavenly wisdom and heroic purpose in the ful- 
fillment of their duties, that so we may be righteously 
governed, and the civil polity and laws under which 
we live may aid toward making this nation one whose 
God shall be the Lord. Also be Thy benediction 
upon the state to which we more immediately belong. 
Graciously regard its chief magistrate, and all those 
who with and under him, carr}'^ on its government, 
that we and our fellow-citizens may lead quiet and 
peaceable lives, in all godliness and honesty. Forgive 
our sins. Help us to fight manfully the good fight of 
faith. Make us dauntless against all evil in ourselves 
and in the world, and crown us with eternal victory at 
last, in the Name of the Prince of Peace. Amen. 

" Pilgrim's Song of Hope," . . . American Band. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 59 

ORATION. 
Comrade Alonzo Williams. 



Comrades : 

We assemble to do homage to virtue. 
It is in obedience to a beautiful sentiment of human 
nature that the world has ever honored its worthy 
and illustrious dead. In eulogy and in song, in 
monuments of granite and in statues of bronze, has 
it celebrated their virtues and recorded their deeds. 
And so is it well ; for next to the sense of religious 
duty, no stronger obligation rests upon the soul than 
gratitude to those who have offered themselves a sac- 
rifice for humanity ; and second only to an exalted 
communion with one's Maker is the aspiration of the 
soul for alliance with departed worth. Thus we 
strive by art and S3''mbol to link ourselves in closer 
union with noble natures gone. 

To-day, following these high behests, we have 
gathered on the banks of the beautiful river, and 
there, with loving hands and tender hearts, raised a 
fitting memorial above the sacred tumulus of him 
whose name we bear. Though a quarter of a cen- 
tury has passed and our keener griefs have mellowed 
into tender memories under the gentle assuaging of 



60 A MEMORLAi OF 

five and twenty summers, yet, as we participated in 
the impressive ceremonies of commemoration, our 
hearts were touched again to long unwonted emotions, 
as the portals of memory flew open wide and we gazed 
with reverent and loving admiration once again upon 
that form and face. Withdraw we could not from 
such a dedication in silence, and leave the speechless 
granite alone to tell of his valor and worth. Examples 
of such self-sacrifice are far too rare, and fain would 
we detain the hour that we may inspire and exalt our 
fellow-men by the ineffable grandeur of such a death 
— in such a cause. 

You have honored me by your command to speak 
in your behalf at such a time, and I rise to perform 
the sacred duty, too painfully conscious what unequal 
powers I bring to the task imposed. Among the an- 
cient Greeks the custom was that the fathers of the 
most valiant of the slain should speak the eulogies of 
the dead. So I come, not as an orator, simply as a 
comrade, a brother. I stand in the place of the 
fathers of the valiant dead, and speak to you, my 
brothers, and feel assured that this sacred kinship, 
made close and firm by years of common dangers 
and common sufferings, will inspire my weak words 
with a power they otherwise could not possess. 



COIiONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 61 

Col. John S. Slocum was a marked man in a 
marked era. The more I read the record of his life, 
the more I study the deeper character of the man, as 
he left it written upon the hearts of those who knew 
him best, the more do I marvel at the potency and 
promise that resided in him. The time, it would 
seem, is fully come, when the outward acts and inner 
virtues of his life should be gathered up and sealed 
in more worthy and enduring form. The history of 
his native state without it is incomplete, and one 
niche in the pantheon of her illustrious dead is va- 
cant while unadorned by his gracious presence. The 
historian will see that this duty is not left undone. 
Mine to-night is a far humbler task. In this regard, 
I propose to glance only at that one supreme moment 
of his life, at that consummate act which rendered 
him immortal. 

Bull Run. 

Between nine and ten in the morning, on Sunday, 
July the twenty-first, in the year eighteen hundred 
and sixty-one, was seen a long, straggling column 
slowly crossing the ford near Sudley Church in Vir- 
ginia. Their march since two in the morning had 
been long and arduous. Wear}' from loss of sleep. 



62 A MEMORIAL OF 

faint from want of breakfast, burdened with musket 
and ammunition, though the blood in their veins still 
pulses firm and warm, yet their uninured limbs well- 
nigh refuse to bear further the proud hearts that swell 
their breasts. They linger in the refreshing stream to 
quench their parching thirst and bathe their heated 
brows. Around them is spread a scene reminding 
many a one of his rural New England home. Parents 
and children from the neighboring hamlets are dressed 
in Sunday garb, and before the young soldier rises the 
vision of his own mother, or wife and children wend- 
ing their way to the far-oft' church on the hillside of 
New England, there to pray for the loved one and for 
his cause ; and as he gazed upon the glad vision, 
something was seen to steal its winding way through 
the heated dust upon his cheek. What a strange con- 
trast the scene presents ! Never before has any there 
set out at such an hour, on such a mission. Alas ! 
that little church on the hither bank is not destined to 
be filled with the voice of worship this Sabbath morn, 
but with the moans of the wounded and the dying 
rather ! Alas ! the spirit of so many for whom those 
prayers went up at New England altars, will outstrip 
those prayers to the throne above ! 

But who is this line of men? Need I tell you 



COIiONEIi JOHN S. SLOCUia'. 



63 




64 A MEMORIAL OF 

that those you see before you compose the second of 
the five divisions into which that little army of thirty- 
five thousand men has been divided, and that this di- 
vision has been chosen to commence the attack upon 
the enemy, encamped on Manassas Plain? Need I 
tell you that the brigade which leads this division is 
commanded by our own beloved Burnside, and con- 
tains the flower of Rhode Island, with its young and 
gallant governor at their head? Need I tell 3'ou that 
the regiment which holds the van of this brigade, not 
only by the urgent request, but even by the demand 
as a right, from its intrepid colonel, is the regiment of 
which tlie state is so proud to-day — our gallant Sec- 
ond? 

Glance at them as they pause a moment by the re- 
freshing stream. You remember them well, citizens 
of Providence, as on that beautiful nineteenth day of 
June they gathered upon yonder square to receive the 
parting counsel and benediction of our ever-esteemed 
and now venerable bishop. Never can I forget the 
emotions which filled my breast that day. To my 
^-^outhful imagination it seemed as if the gates of Olym- 
pus had opened and sent down the godlike forms of 
the ancient world for the conquest of the nation. That 
was in youth, when my own highest ambition was to 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 65 

join their ranks. To-night, after the experience of 
those four eventful years and the lapse of so long an 
interval, I can only corroborate that 3'outhful impres- 
sion ; for here may I sa}', without awakening jeal- 
ousy in any soldier's breast, that no State in all this 
Union sent into that great war a body of men supe- 
rior to the one upon which we gaze at Sudley Ford. 
They come from the shops, the factories, the farms, 
the schools, scattered all over our little State, but they 
are of sturdy New England ancestry ; and in the line 
of that regiment before you stand eight men, eight^ 
men ! who shall wear the silver eagle that now sits 
upon the shoulder of their colonel ; four^ shall gain the 
next higher rank by brevet, and two^ the full grade, 
one* of whom is destined to fall bravely tighting at An- 
tietam with the star upon his shoulder, and the other'' 
to win and wear with honor the double star. Yea, in 
the very ranks before you, stands this day, with mus- 
ket on his shoulder, one,^ who in the last great days of 
that great struggle shall occupy the place adorned by 

1. Wheaton, Rodman, Steere, Viall, Ames, Rhodes, GofF, and Read. 

2. Steere, Viall, Ames, Goft'. 

3. Wheaton and Rodman. 

4. Rodman. 

5. Wheaton. 

6. Rhodes. 



66 A KEMOBIAL OF 

his colonel, one whom a gracious fate still spares to 
hold in our militia, and in our esteem, the same high 
place his commander did a quarter of a century ago. 
These data are but a small exponent of the charac- 
ter of these men. 

What more can we say of their colonel, when we 
add he is worthy to command such men? Behold him 
as he sits there upon his dark-bay steed ! The ideal 
soldier from crest to stirrup, from stirrup to crest ; 
born to command ; trained from youth up by inclina- 
tion and by service to the life of a soldier ; bearing 
upon his shield the magic names, Contreras, Churu- 
busco, Chapultepec ; historic fields, where rapid pro- 
motion proved the valor of his youth and the upward 
gravitation of his character. He is just midway in 
life. The consuming ardor which burns in his breast 
is tempered by the repose and strength which come 
with maturer manhood. His clear, grayish-blue eye 
reflects the purity of the soul which it mirrors. Upon 
his brown, handsome face rests a smile of confidence, 
beneath which may be discerned a resolution which 
reads: " To-day^ victory and a star, or a soldier's 
graveJ'^ 

These are the men, this is the leader, who so 
promptly formed in battle line and faced the enemy 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 67 

upon the crest of the hill beyond the ford, and opened 
the sanguinary engagement on Manassas Plain ! This 
is the regiment, this is the colonel, who stood a full 
half hour alone, alone against Georgia, Alabama, and 
South Carolina, till ammunition and physical strength 
were exhausted, yet stubbornly refusing to yield to the 
ever-increasing foe the crest so gallantly won ! This 
is the regiment, which, when relieved by the rest of 
the brigade, reformed, though its officers and men 
were falling fast, and took a new position by the 
famous fence of the corn-field on the left, to which the 
color-sergeant so heroically advanced, and upon 
which he planted the colors they had sworn to defend ! 
This is the regiment which the Eighth Georgia never 
forgot, and never forgave, for the utter destruction of 
its organization that day! This is the regiment — I 
make no attempt here to adorn my speech, for the 
baldest outline is eloquence itself — this is the regi- 
ment which, later in the day, was drawn up to hold 
in check the new army that appeared upon the scene I 
This is the regiment which, still preserving its regi- 
mental formation, was the last to withdraw from the 
field upon which it had been the first to enter ! And 
this is the field where, when the contest was raging 
fiercest, their intrepid leader, mounted on that fence 



68 A MEMOHIAIi OF 

in advance of his line, fell, pierced with balls, to the 
ground ! 

" Right in the van, 
With heart that beat a charge, he fell 
Foeward, as fits a man." 

The place of his death was not inappropriate to his 
desire, nor the manner unbefitting his life. At the 
head of his regiment, in the storm of battle, his eye 
fixed upon the flag he loved, brave, loyal, and true, he 
fell, our proto-martyr to the Union cause. His monu- 
ment is his own noble life ; his epitaph, the place 
where he fell ; his eulogy, his heroic death. The silver 
star he earned that day shall ever adorn his radiant 
brow. 

His Character. 

Here let us pause to analyze the character of this 
hero, if, perchance, we may discern wherein his vir- 
tue lay. The analysis is simple. First and foremost, 
he was a soldier. This one characteristic was in him 
so regnant, it is not easy to recall any other worthy of 
mention beside it. His early service to his country 
was that of a soldier, and from that service he brought 
back honor to his native state. His subsequent service 
as Examiner at West Point shows the estimate the Gov- 
ernment placed upon his character as a soldier. His 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 69 

service to his state within its limits before the war was 
that of a soldier and of great value. To-night we are 
honored by the presence of an organization which he 
commanded, and whose efficiency does credit to the 
State and honor to the name it bears, " The Slocum 
Light Guard." 

His ideal of what a soldier should be was high. 
When recalled from his position of major in the First 
Regiment to the command of the Second, he came 
resolved to make it second only in name to any in the 
service. Often did he speak with pride of his men, 
and with high hopes of what they would do ; nor did 
they disappoint him when the hour of trial came. 
In addition to the sterling qualities of his men, I can- 
not but think that the steadiness they displayed that 
day was due, in a large measure, to the character of 
their commander. He had over them a peculiar 
power. In the natural world there is a force too 
subtle for analysis or explanation. Bodies in which 
it resides have the marvelous property of transmuting 
by mere contact other bodies into their own likeness. 
Its analogue is found in the moral world. There are 
men who possess this mysterious, transmuting power. 
Colonel Slocum was such a man. His very character 
aroused aspiration ; his zeal enkindled ardor ; his 



70 A MEMORIAL OF 

discipline developed power. It was the transfer of 
his own soldierly instincts and qualities to his officers 
and men that transformed them into soldiers of his own 
likeness. Though he held the command but six 
short weeks, yet he stamped his character indelibly 
upon that regiment; and his successors, more than 
one of whom honor his memory by their presence 
here to-night, never ceased to feel the force of the im- 
pulse he imparted to it, and they strove ever to realize 
his high hopes and thus to redeem the pledge he had 
given of its future career. 

But Colonel Slocum was more than a superior sol- 
dier, he was a -patriot soldier. He was ambitious to 
a fault, but underneath his ambitiom, chastening and 
sanctifying it, was the purest disinterested patriot- 
ism. In my hand I hold a letter written while he 
was major in the First Regiment. His father-in-law, 
the late Senator, Gen. Charles T. James, is urging 
him to return and to engage with him in manufactur- 
ing the cannon for which his name is celebrated. 

Read : To his wife — 

"In regard to what jour father said about my coming, I feel 
about as he does about it, and know that now is the time to make 
money, but I never could have staid at home, and seen my State 
send troops to sustain this Government, and I not be found among 
them. I could not have been able to show my face in the street — 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 71 

no ! that could never be. I am now where I belong, and I shall not 
remove from it so long as mj country needs my arm in her defense. 
I want to see jou, I want to see mj darlirg child, my mothers — all, 
all my friends — but I never can turn my back to the enemies of my 
beloved country, and expect to meet the approving plaudits of my 
countrymen at home — that I cannot, dare not do. Duty called me 
here, keeps me here, and as I trust I shall be found foremost among 
my enemies, I shall also be foremost in my efforts to restore har- 
mony to our distracted country. 

Such words fall upon the cold, burnt-out hearts of 
this generation as a voice from some distant age of ro- 
mance, rather than from the lips of one whom we did 
see and know, and whose spirit of self-devotion we 
ourselves once, in part at least, did feel. Let the ce- 
lestial ardor which burns through those glowing lines 
be dampened by no cold words of mine. 

With this preeminently distinguishing characteris- 
tic of the soldier was united in him another, to which 
the first may seem strangely contrasted, though in es- 
sence the two are closely akin. This was his pas- 
sionate love for his children. While here organizing 
his regiment, it was his habit to hasten, when the day 
was over, from the sterner duties of the camp to the 
purer delights of the domestic circle, where he passed 
the evening with his children ; and after he had 
lulled them to sleep with hymns, which he so de- 
lighted to sing and sang so sweetly, he returned to 



72 A MEMOHIAL OF 

his tent for the night. His little three-year-old 
daughter, Kittie, he especially worshiped, and in 
ever}-^ letter from the front he expresses for her the 
deepest solicitude. 

Read : 

" Camp Clarke, | 

July 16, 1861, 10 o'clock, A. M. ) 
My Dear Wife : 

We march at i o'clock for the enemy on the other side of the 
Potomac. We move six miles this p. m. and nine more in the 
morning, and expect to fight them during the day to-morrow; my 
regiment will commence the attack. If they stand we shall have 
some hard fighting. Some will fall; I may be one of them. If so, 
I leave my children to you alone. Bring up Kittie to know early 
the value of the religion of Christ; it alone can make her true and 
virtuous. Kiss both her and the boy for me.* If he lives send him 
to West Point. My men are all in good spirits, and you shall hear 
good accounts from us. I kiss you good-by. Maj'God watch over, 
keep, and bless you and ours. Good-by. 

Affectionately your husband, 

Jno. S. Slocum." 

Thus was the sword of the Christian patriot soldier 
jeweled in the hilt with the priceless gem of domestic 
virtue. May we not be permitted to add that that 
" darling child," who went so often to spend the day 
at her father's tent, watched but two short years for 
him to come with the eve and sing her to sleep, and 
then, taking her little brother by the hand, went to 

• The boy at this time was but a few weeks old. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 73 

join him where he sat waiting for them in the door of 
his tent, now pitched on the other side of the star-lit 
Hne. 

Such was the hero ; such is the virtue we commem- 
orate to-night. Who rnay say what would have been 
the fruit of the full life of one who had so early done 
so much ? His auspicious past gave hope and prom- 
ise of a still nobler future. He left his state bearing 
the hopes of her people. He returned " accompanied 
by the pageantry of her woe, with muffled drums and 
arms reversed, and banners draped in black." 

The Second Rhode Island. 
Comrades of the Second Rhode Island ! can you 
realize the full significance of this hour ? Five and 
twenty years have come and gone since you saw 
him fall, since you, sir,* raised him tenderly in 
your arms and ministered to his sufferings, and yet 
after this lapse of time you are here to do him honor. 
You come with those silken banners all rent and 
torn, yet on their tattered folds can we spell out his- 
toric names, such as Bull Run, Malvern Hill and 
Fredericksburg, Salem Heights and Gettysburg, the 
Wilderness and Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and 



* General Rhodes. 



74 A MEMORIAL OF 

Petersburg, names that come freighted with the 
memories of an eventful past. Wonderful, wonder- 
ful, are the blessings of Heaven vouchsafed to 3'ou — 
uniting within the limits of your own experience the 
momentous struggle of which you were an important 
part, and the full blessings which you now enjoy. 
When in youth you turned your back upon home and 
all your cherished hopes to offer yourselves a sacri- 
fice for the land you loved, ne'er, ne'er, did your 
fondest hope reach onward to this auspicious hour. 
Bow down and thank a gracious God ! You lived to 
sheathe your swords ! You lived to see the Union 
saved ! You still live to reap the fruits of sacrifice ! 
Veterans of a quarter of a century ! You are the 
remnant only of that noble band. War and Time 
have thinned those once serried ranks. In your broken 
lines we search in vain for Ballou and Tower, Smith 
and Rodman, Gleason and Sherman, Shaw and Mc- 
Intyre, Bates, Bolles, Carr, Church, Collins, Ham- 
mett, Pearce, Perry, Young ! How their images 
come thronging to your embraces ! O, that we could 
call them back to look upon their finished work, the 
country redeemed. O, that they all, with their gal- 
lant leader, might " absent themselves from bliss 
awhile," and rise up in our midst to-night, and gra- 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 75 

ciously accept from us these humble offices of com- 
memoration ! 

Self-Sacrifice. 

Comrades ! At this consecrated hour, when the 
heart is open to diviner influences, may we not ask 
ourselves what are the lessons taught by such a dedi- 
cation as- we have this day performed? The value 
and significance of this service lie deeper than the 
seeming, and extend beyond the hour. It is not the 
man alone that we honor to-night, but the principle 
which he embodied. We worship the vir no less, but 
the virius incarnate in him more. Our highest eulogy 
is not for the mortal, for the immortal rather. 

The virtue we adore in him is self-sacrifice. That 
is the supremest lesson of the hour, as it is the su- 
premest lesson of life. Not in self-seeking, not in vain- 
glory, not in self-aggrandizement, but in self-sacrifice, 
even in that heroic loyalty and sublime self-devotion 
which led him to die that we might live, does man 
rise to the supreme act of heroic living ; and the heart 
of the world beats ever in grateful admiration for valor 
proved on the field of danger in defense of a righteous 
cause. In emulation the people strive to do it honor. 
For such the State reserves her selectest laurels. 



"C A MEMORIAIi OF 

Over her martj-r dead she rears her choicest memo- 
rials. And so she does well ; for in honoring them she 
does herself a greater honor. Such service is due, 
not to the fallen alone, but to the nation, to humanity, 
and the Republic is stronger, as well as juster, when 
she shows herself not ungrateful for their service and 
by such memorials presents their names to the emula- 
tion of the future. 

Patriotism. 

Closely akin to the virtue of self-sacrifice is that of 
patriotism. No higher obligation rests upon an Amer- 
ican citizen than that of cultivating a love and loyalty 
to countr3^ How better can this be done than by per- 
petuating the memory of those who have fallen in its 
defense? To the Republic the record of their valor, 
their deeds, their death is an undying possession, a 
veritable y.T7,;ia «?:', a part of her moral wealth, of 
which she must not be despoiled. 

So let the glorious remnant of the Grand Army of 
the Republic go on in its noble mission, loyal to the 
future as it has been to the past. Let them hold up 
the record of the heroic dead to the emulation of their 
children. Let them point it out with pride to the 
stranger. Let monuments and triumphal arches and 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 77 

memorial halls go up and deck the land, on which 
coming generations may read the record their fathers 
carved with their swords. 

Where, comrades, could we have found a fitter type 
of our fallen brothers than in him above whose tomb 
we have raised a memorial this day? His personal 
character, his unswerving loyalty to country, the bril- 
liancy of his early service, the promise of his future 
years, the sublimity of his daring, the splendor of his 
fall, all conspire to make him Rhode Island's typical 
martyr to the Union cause, the hero sans ^eur et sans 
rep7'oche, than whom none braver ever faced a foe 
since Roland wound his horn at Roncesvalles ; and to 
our children in coming years no theme will more in- 
spire the breast, will more entrance the soul, than the 
unselfish patriotism and the sublime heroism of him 
who so early fell a martyr to freedom. They may 
never hear of the imperial wrath of Achilles, or the 
brave and noble manhood of Hector, of the Horatii, or 
Virginius ; may never read of Arthur and his valiant 
knights, but they must not lose the stoiy of this hero, 
this life, this death. They should be taught it by 
heart, taught it in the home, taught it in the school, 
taught it by monuments of art ; they should be made 
to think on this hero and on such as he, even as we 



78 A MEMORIAIi OF 

did on those of the Revolution, till they are inspired 
by his spirit, animated by his heroism, shaped and 
moulded by his example, then should our country 
ever require the strength of their arm and the spilling 
of their blood, they too will not be found wanting. 

Immortality of the Dead. 

We may mention one other service rendered by the 
dedication of such a memorial. It establishes a me- 
dium of communion with the illustrious dead. It opens 
for us a window into a higher life, and keeps our faces 
turned to a nobler existence. It is incumbent upon 
humanity to avail itself of every medium by which the 
commerce between the world and its illustrious citizens 
of all time may be maintained. By these memorials 
which we raise, the departed remain a moral power in 
the world, exerting through the granite, the marble, 
the bronze, an ever-living, ever-widening influence. 

Often the truest, the supremest good conferred by 
man is not reached while he remains among us an 
original force ; only after he has ceased to influence the 
world as a cause, does he begin to influence it more as 
an effect ; then only does he rise to the dignity of his 
true relation as the exponent of a vaster mind and will, 
and become a part of the supreme power that rules 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 79 

the world. This is a far-reaching law of the moral 
world, and its conservation is the hope of humanity, 
It is thus, by the abiding influence of the great and 
good, that their loss to the world is compensated. It 
is thus that humanity suffers not an ever-recurring 
relapse into barbarism. It is thus that the continuity 
of the world's moral development is maintained and 
its redemption assured. 

The German has a faith that his Emperor, Friedrich, 
the Red Beard, did not die on the crusade, but is sit- 
ting yet in a deep cavern of his native mountains, ar- 
rayed in his purple mantle, with his huge battle axe 
and sword and crown before him upon a table of stone, 
and whenever his country is hard pressed he comes 
forth to lead again his countrymen against the foe. 
So we have a faith that he is not dead, our com- 
mander, to-night. His mortal form the dumb turf 
wraps, but his soul triumphant rises to cheer us still, a 
part of our life's imperishable good ; and though cen- 
turies pass, he will rise again and again to lead his 
countrymen, and to inspire them in ever}^ hour of 
doubt and trial with a valor kindred to his own. 

These are the lessons we read to-night : Self-sacri- 
fice, Patriotism, the Immortality of the Dead ! A 
glorious trinity of truths, which ennoble the man, 



80 A MEMORIAL OF 

which strengthen the nation, which advance the moral 
development of the race. These are the truths which 
we weave into an immortal wreath, intertwined with 
the virtues of personal character, and lay upon his 
tomb, where coming generations may behold its per- 
ennial beauty and breathe its undying fragrance. 

Commander and comrades of Slocum Post ! The 
duty 3'^ou assigned to me is finished. We now with- 
draw from this new-made sepulchre, and turn our faces 
once again back into the world. The man we loved, 
the hero we honor, leave we lying there ; but glorious, 
immortal ; and his spirit yet lives in the world, an au- 
thentic life. May it not be the least of the tributes we 
render to him, that we forget not the lesson he would 
teach us : To live in the manner of true men ; not for 
self, but for the world ; not for the day, but for eternity. 

Farewell, thou fallen comrade ! Hail, immortal 
spirit ! With each returning spring we come again 
and bring fresh flowers to strew above thee, and gar- 
lands of victory for thy brow, and at thy head we will 
plant again that flower thou lov'dst so well, that per- 
fect flower of freedom — the red^ white and blue. This 
monument shall be an enduring witness of thy service 
and of our und3ang love. The glad morning shall 
hasten to scatter its fresh-cut flowers about it. The 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 81 

imperial sun at high meridian shall daily pause to lay 
its golden lilies upon it. The parting day shall linger 
beside it in pensive adoration. Man and nature shall 
conspire to do thee honor. 

But the monument that shall endure forever was 
reared by^thee thyself. The solid granite we place 
this day above thee may moulder and crumble ; the 
bank upon which it stands may be leveled with 
the stream, but so long as the State shall endure, 
thus long in the hearts of the people shall be 
enshrined the virtues, the deeds, the death, and in 
letters of love shall stand inscribed the name of 
John Stanton Slocum. 



MUSIC. 

♦'Day in Camp,"— American Band. 



MEMORIAL ODE, 
By Comrade Frederic Denison. 



MARTYR MEMORIES. 



I. 

Land of our love ! in thy vexed day, 
When passion pulsed to bloody tide 

When theft-shod treason, in array, 
Thy just authority denied — 



82 A MEMORIAIi OF 

Oppression lifting angry blow 
To lay thy holy altar low — 
Thy loyal sons awoke, to prove 
Thy greatness and their own deep love ; 
Responsive to thy trumpet call, 
For thee, they rose, a battle wall. 

Before high heaven their troth they gave 
And turned to breast rebellion's wave. 
Day fraught with weightiest destiny — 
Fate of a hemisphere to be 
Or dark or light, or chained or free. 
Scene grander never nation saw — 
The rising of a mighty land 
Full armed, at Liberty's command. 

Monarchs and kings stood dumb with awe, 
To see free men enthrone pure law, 
And stand a bulwark for the true, 
To brave the battle-billows through — 
How deep the crimson of those waves. 
Witness three hundred thousand graves. 

II. 

Among these martyrs, one we own. 
Whose name high on our roster shone ; 
Who, in the struggles of our land. 
Devoted ardent heart and hand ; 
Who held man's rights as his ideal, 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 83 

And stood to God and Freedom feal ; 

Who boasted it his highest pride 

To guard our country's flag defied ; 
Who deemed our Stars not ours alone, 
But borrowed from " the gi'eat white throne " : 

Blest Stars, elect to hold the van 

In every upward march of man ; 
Heaven's signets preordained to be, 
Of Freedom's reign, the heraldry. 

Such valiant man, we all can sing. 

As here in heart we tribute bring. 
To-day his name we write anew 
Upon the Stars that light our Blue, 

And see upon our banner's Red 

His blood for us so freely shed. 

III. 

What is the measure of a man ? 
What is a life of noblest span.^ 

Whoever lives to self alone 
May hive in his luxurious halls, 
To flesh and sense a slave ; 

His little hour of idlesse done, 
His name, as autumn-sear leaf, falls 

To sink in Lethe's wave. 
But he, heaven-pledged, who deathvvard rode, 

Unheeding loss and pain, 



84 A MEMORIAL OF 

Whose freely offered life-blood flowed 

For our redeeming gain, 
Unconscious won a lustrous name 
That History shall grateful claim. 
Or long, or short, that life is blest 
That beats for man's uplifting best. 

IV. 

Bow we before the martyr's tomb 

As pilgrims bending to a shrine ; 
His life to-day is all abloom 

With beauty that shall ever shine. 
Yes, out of self, for other lives. 

Is the great thought that God bestows ; 
That deed alone unfading thrives 

That, as a beam celestial, glows 
With radiance to illume earth's night 
And further the domain of Right. 

Do we deplore his sacrifice ? 

But, he, who for his fellows dies, 
Though falling in his manly prime, 

By heaven's decree, at last, shall rise 
On storied pedestal sublime — 

As seen e'en now before our eyes — 
Not as a sculptured shape of stone 

That Dissolution's chisel finds, 
But dowered with heart and angel tone. 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 85 

Inspiring other generous minds, 
Waking the inner, deathless ear, 

Filling with regal faith the soul, 
Upcalling to the higher sphere 

Where sceptered truths alone control ; 
Upleading to the purer fields 
Where mortal to immortal yields : 

As, by the Cross, a life was won 

Bi-ight and enduring as the sun. 
Thank Heaven that this is so — 
That man above himself may rise, 
By conscious kinship with the skies, 

His bosom all aglow, 
To choose and battle for the True, 
Its triumph ever in his view : 

Truth conceiving, firm believing. 

Dauntless daring, full achieving. 

V. 

E'en so, on the embattled field, 

Rhode Island's cherished, gallant son 
Fell on his brightly blazoned shield. 

To outward sight, his life-work done. 
Ah, but that life of consecration 
Yet thrills the bosom of our nation : 

His was a kind of sacrifice 

That in Time's memory never dies. 



86 A MEMORIAIi OF 

A bloom there is forever vernal — 
So virtue has a grace supernal. 

His blood, as altar-incense burned, 
Diffuses precious fragrance round, 

And rises pleading up to heaven — 
Such blood, whereby our land is turned 
To sweet and consecrated ground, 
A heritage to Freedom given. 

VI. 

Do we lament that he should fall 

In life's meridian of duty ? 
The fairer stands he to us all 

On the ideal height of beauty — 
Not a decrepit, age-cold form 

Of vital force expended ; 
But with all noble graces warm, 

Full and harmonious blended. 
Forever shining in our view 
A typic champion of the True. 

Rhode Island writes his name in sheen 

Beside her Perry and lier Greene ; 
And we have graven on his tomb 
The lines to dissipate all gloom — 
" His life's expense 

Hath won for him coeval youth 

With the immaculate prime of Truth." 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 



87 



VII. 



So springs this service of to-day — 
In time and place so far away 

From the blood-written tragedy — 
This march of veteran, scar-badged braves 
To his, among our choicest graves, 

To pay him patriot-eulogy 
In beauteous, emblematic stone, 
Devote in solemn ritual form. 
Breathed from our comrade-bosoms warm, 
Recalling honors that he won ; 

And, ere we from his grave retired, 
Our soldier parting volley fired. 
And here, in kindred feeling one, 
Has this love-drawn assembly come 
With steps led by the muffled drum, 
To join in tender requiem strains. 
And hear our gifted comrade tell 
How loyally the patriot fell, 
A martyr, on Manassas Plains. 



VIII. 



No, no ; say not that he is dead ; 

We see him even now 
At the attacking column's head, 

With open, glowing, fearless brow. 



88 A MEMORIAL OF 

On-marshalling his loved command, 

Obedient to our periled land ; 
Imparting to his ranks a life 
That nerved them for their years of strife. 
And still his hero spirit leads 

In Freedom's yet unfinished fray, 

Right up the steep and rugged way, 
And by his bright example pleads 

The onward, conquering cause of Right 

To her predestined, radiant height. 
His duty prompted by the Cross , 
For which e'en life he counted loss, 

His breast received the fiery dart 

Intended for the nation's heart. 
Round him, and such as he, 
Who fronted death to make men free. 

Shall rally every faithful soul 

When Duty beats her quick ' ' long roll " ; 
Invisible, but present, they 
Shall lead us in each testing day 
' Till Freedom's standard is unfurled 

Triumphant o'er this Western World. 

IX. 

Rest, Warrior Comrade, peaceful rest ; 

In memory's chamber 'mid the loved, 
In History's hall among the great, 

Henceforth thou standest full approved, 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 89 

Of Honor's shining ones, a mate, 

In Freedom's temple ever blest. 
We, soon to bivouac in the dust, 
Now yield thee to our country's trust ; 

Assured that to thy art-hewn tomb 
So fit by speaking symbols crowned. 

With reverent thought and tread 

Shall other generations come, 
Esteeming it as sacred ground, 

And wreaths of laurel grateful spread. 

X. 

By prophets and by sages told, 

A wealth there is above all gold — 

Ordained to win the world's acclaim — 

The treasure of a worthy name. 
Proud of the patriot rank he won — 
Hereafter thy immortal son — 

O, Mother Land, guard well the grave 

Of Slocum, thy true martyr-brave. 



MUSIC. 
" America," .... American Band and Audience. 



BENEDICTION. 
By Rev. E. G. Robinson, dd., ll. d. 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of 
God our Heavenly Father, and the guidance of the 



90 A MEMORIAL OF 

Holy Spirit be to us, and to all the inhabitants of our 
loved land, evermore. Amen. 
Comrades. — Amen. 



Concluding Action by the Post. 

After the dedicatory services, at a Post meeting 
December ist, it was 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Post are due and 
are hereby tendered to the Department Commander, 
Theodore A. Barton, and his associate officers of the 
Department, for their presence and valuable services 
at the dedication of the Slocum Monument and at the 
memorial services in the evening ; also to Comrade 
Alonzo Williams for his very able and eloquent com- 
memorative oration ; also to Department Chaplain 
F. Denison for his admirable memorial ode ; also to 
Comrade E. B. Andrews, and the Rev. E. G. Robinson, 
D. D. LL. D., for evening services; also to all others 
who in any manner have contributed to the success of 
the dedicatory occasion. 

It was furthermore 

Resolved, That the Monument Committee be 
authorized to prepare a memorial of Col. John 



COLONEL JOHN S. SLOCUM. 91 

S. Slocum, containing particularly the doings of the 
Post in securing and dedicating the monument we 
have erected to Colonel Slocum ; and also authorized 
to publish as many copies of said memorial at the ex- 
pense of the Post, as said committee may deem ex- 
pedient. 

By order of the Monument Committee, Comrade F. 
Denison was chosen to make arrangements with par- 
ties concerned for securing perpetual care of the grave 
and monument of Colonel Slocum in Swan Point 
Cemetery. His efforts happily terminated in the fol- 
lowing action taken by the Post. 

Resolved, That we accept, from Cordelia Bowen, 
Abby J. Slocum, Phebe J. Fiske, Charlotte T. Hal- 
berstadt, and others, the title deed of the lot in Swan 
Point Cemetery, containing the grave and monument 
of Col. John S. Slocum, with the conditions named in 
said deed, of the right of burial of certain specified 
persons and the duty of securing perpetual care of the 
said lot in said cemetery. 

Resolved., That the Quartermaster of the Post be and 
hereby is empowered and instructed to convey to the 
Corporation — the Proprietors of Swan Point Cemetery 
— in trust, the lot, in said Swan Point Cemetery, con- 
taining the grave and monument of Col. John S. Slo- 



92 A MEMORIAL OF 

CUM, given by deed to this Post by Cordelia Bowen, 
Abby J. Slocum, Phebe J. Fiske, Charlotte T. Hal- 
berstadt, and others, upon the conditions named in 
said deed. 



Such was the inception, progress, and completion 
of the work in securing and dedicating the monument 
to our patriot-brother, and in assuring the proper and 
perpetual care of his grave. And this memorial vol- 
ume reciting, though briefly, the story of the martyr's 
life and deeds, it is trusted may find its niche in the 
annals of our state and our nation, to awaken in the 
bosoms of Freedom's sons for generations to come a 
sacred sense of gratitude to our country's defenders 
and to enkindle in all the spirit and manifestation of 
loyalty and devotion to our blood-bought Republic. 
The records of great sacrifices for the weal of mankind, 
being more precious than treasures of gold, because 
serving as inspirations, should not be suffered to per- 
ish or grow dim. 



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